Three other Phoenix neighborhoods, Willo Historic District, North Encanto Historic District, and Lantana Ranch which is located in Chandler, did also make the cut for the top five neighborhoods in the Valley of the Sun.

Mcdowell Mountain Ranch came in as #1, respectively, with Grayhawk closely following as #2 in the Valley.

The process Redfin used to calculate the list goes like this: “In search of answers, we went to our website users, tallying hundreds of millions of pages they visited and homes they added as Favorites to monitor for price changes or sales. At the same time we asked hundreds of Redfin real estate agents across the country to share their insights on which neighborhoods are buzzing and why.

Whipping up this special cocktail of big data analysis and real-life human experience, we assembled our list of neighborhoods with the greatest growth in popularity over the last four months. –Redfin

Redfin recorded that the most expensive of the top five neighborhoods is McDowell Mountain Ranch, which has a median sale price of $510,000.

Highly ranked schools and scenic community parks seem to be the obvious common thread among the top neighborhoods.

There are miles of trails that connect the neighborhoods of McDowell Mountain Ranch. You will also find that trails conveniently lead to the Scottsdale Public Library, Citizen Service Center and the excelling Desert Canyon Elementary and Desert Canyon Middle schools. One of the highlights is the 5-acre park in the center of the development, which offers a swimming pool, spa, basketball courts and tennis courts as well as a splash fountain. There is also a community center that is easily accessible for residents of the community.

The Grayhawk community was designed with the lifestyles of singles, families and empty nesters in mind. There are ample amenities to suit different types of people and their interests. Some of these amenities, such playgrounds, basketball courts, picnic areas and grassy play areas, are featured. The highly rated Grayhawk Elementary School is located within in the community, as well as El Dorado Private School.

It is no surprise that these two communities were voted the top two “hottest neighborhoods of 2014” in the Phoenix area.

Grayhawk is one of my favorite neighborhoods to show homes in. While touring Grayhawk with clients, I encourage them to take a look at the recent issue of the neighborhood publication, Grayhawk Flight.